There have been growing concerns surrounding the wellbeing of teachers working in UK schools, with recent data from YouGov illustrating the extent of the issue.
YouGov research from this year found that half of teachers have reported at least one symptom related to work-related burnout since the start of the 2020-21 school year.
Meanwhile, a similar YouGov poll said that 46 per cent of the 1,000 teachers asked had considered leaving the profession and that one in eight reported they were becoming stressed as a result of their job.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and school spending long stretches closed, the pressure has been rising on teachers tasked with adapting to a new way of working.
Furthermore, some students have fallen behind while at home, meaning that catch-up sessions have added to the already significant burden.
On the research, Sinéad Mc Brearty, chief executive of Education Support, said: “This is concerning for the education workforce and concerning for pupils.
"Good levels of personal wellbeing and feeling secure are essential for education, as they put pupils in the right frame of mind to learn. The wellbeing of teachers has direct impact on the wellbeing of schoolchildren and their readiness to learn."
Many schools around the country have looked to tackle the issue for some time now, with Aldercar High School in Nottingham a notable example.
On the topic of staff wellbeing, headteacher Clare Hatto wrote in The Parliamentary Review that it was a "vital" factor in the school functioning as best it could.
"Promoting staff wellbeing has been vital to the recent success of the school," she said.
"Strategies that have been introduced include “me time”, non-contact periods during which staff do not have to be at school, as well as reducing the burden of marking and the amount of progress data reported, in order to make it more meaningful and timely. Such strategies have allowed us to retain quality staff as well as attract better-quality fields for jobs advertised."
Waverley Primary School was singled out for praise by Ofsted for its approach to staff mental health, as headteacher Wendy Leeming explained to the Review.
"I have invested in the mental health of staff through a range of measures, such as altering the timings of the school day, providing PPA in phase teams, moving to single-form year groups, investing in technology and software packages, and providing extra time away from work when needed, allowing for a greater work–life balance.
"Our most recent Ofsted inspection stated: Staff morale is extremely high. Many staff described how the headteacher goes ‘beyond the call of duty’ to support them both professionally and personally."
